Fragile Deal Niche

[Oppidum]

Oops, well I’ve just had my first look at your array of threads and categories, and there are a lot of Hot Deals, Off Topic, even Coupons and Travel… sooooo, some of what I said above is irrelevant, of course!

If several sites are going to partially replicate each other, the people who post a lot and kind of morph into “overseeing” a topic probably won’t want to do the work of posting the same thing in more than one main spot, so they may choose their “home” site and operate there, for the most part (though they might scan the other sites for anything they haven’t heard of yet, and take it back to their site). Maybe that’s what happened on SlickDeals and FW (I didn’t visit SlickDeals enough to know if they had their own version of a MisterCheap in Grocery/Drugstore, their own version of a CouponClippen in Class Actions, their own version of, e.g., a Dave Hanson in Finance, etc.) This will probably divide up the FW community into smaller groups that will sooner start travelling down different pathways from each other, but that’s okay. There’s enough room for everyone and every style and interest.

It’s great that your site already has a wide variety of topics. You’ve put a lot of effort and time into developing this, and it is appreciated.

What I especially appreciate is how you worked immediately after the impending-closure announcement to capture a lot of the past FW(F) content, and that you have pledged to publish it here, in time.

I don’t like the site/forum layout too much, but it’s not terrible. There seems to be a lot of grey-on-white and empty space (I’m on a desktop). When changing the zoom level, the text sizes and the different parts of the page don’t change as expected, and move out of proportion, but this may be something to do with my old browser and old OS.

[DaveHanson]

@Oppidum

And, I am guessing (though I’ve only been a member here for a moment) that you don’t really want those people here, asking all manner of tangential questions about how to find a parkable car for inner NYC streets that will still fit a wheelchair in it, what to do when the family farm hasn’t been divided up equally amongst all the siblings, how to get a work visa for Switzerland if you don’t have a job yet and you don’t want to marry your partner and you happen to have a passport from Romania. Etc.

I speak only for myself here, but I’d be delighted to see such participation, provided that the quality of discussion about these matters remains relatively high. Quality is more important than narrow focus on “typical” finance topics.

Also agree that a substantial source of FW’s appeal was the human element-odd topics, funny topics, and a willingness to take seriously people’s requests for help.

As for splitting focus with PWF, I wish them well in whatever their focus is. The practical reality is that I don’t know that staff, and they seem more focused on setting up a for-profit site that mirrors the larger FW site. Nothing wrong whatsoever with either of these points–it just makes extensive collaboration unlikely.

[jaytrader]

I give you props for writing all of that. But I couldn’t get past the first couple of paragraphs. Maybe it’s my darkly theme on the site or something, but it was just too much “wall of text” for me. Would you mind providing my lazy self a tl;dr? I’d appreciate it.

[zzz]

@jaytrader

I give you props for writing all of that. But I couldn’t get past the first couple of paragraphs. Maybe it’s my darkly theme on the site or something, but it was just too much “wall of text” for me. Would you mind providing my lazy self a tl;dr? I’d appreciate it.

Haha aren’t you the person that got kicked off of PhatWallet? Loved the posts over on Fatwallet about that!!!

[jaytrader]

Yep. Is there an issue? Why did you feel the need to bring that up? Totally irrelevant to this thread.

[zzz]

@jaytrader

Yep. Is there an issue? Why did you feel the need to bring that up? Totally irrelevant to this thread.

Geez - just recognized your name…

[jaytrader]

@zzz

Geez - just recognized your name…

Geez what? I asked if there was an issue, and why you derailed a thread with that nonsense. Why are you taking offense?

[zzz]

@jaytrader

Geez what? I asked if there was an issue, and why you derailed a thread with that nonsense. Why are you taking offense?

Ok, no issue. Sorry to have offended you; nothing meant by it. Hope you have a nice night.

[jaytrader]

To be clear, you most certainly didn’t offend me. I am just trying to squash any possible drama before it starts.

…back on topic.

[zzz]

@jaytrader

To be clear, you most certainly didn’t offend me. I am just trying to squash any possible drama before it starts.

…back on topic.

Absolutely back on topic - seems the niche is to take everything extremely seriously…

[jaytrader]

See, that’s where you kill it. We were good until your passive aggressive generalizing comment. No reason to generalize the community here because you have one small conversation with one person. That’s the stuff we don’t need here. Hopefully the admin comes in to clean things up.

[zzz]

@jaytrader

See, that’s where you kill it. We were good until your passive aggressive generalizing comment. No reason to generalize the community here because you have one small conversation with one person. That’s the stuff we don’t need here. Hopefully the admin comes in to clean things up.

Ok, I see you are the type that needs to have the last word so go ahead and respond to this so you can have that. Perhaps we’re seeing what the issue was on that other site. Regardless, I’m done interacting with you - enjoy your evening.

[ft-bh]

@DaveHanson

As for splitting focus with PWF, I wish them well in whatever their focus is. The practical reality is that I don’t know that staff, and they seem more focused on setting up a for-profit site that mirrors the larger FW site. Nothing wrong whatsoever with either of these points–it just makes extensive collaboration unlikely.

As I mentioned in the OP, I asked the same question over in PWF and the response I got was that they essentially just want to create a copy of FW. Is that what FD is trying to do as well? I don’t see why collaboration is so unlikely since everyone coexisted at FW until very recently. For me and I suspect the vast majority of users, we don’t really care whether the forum is monetized - obviously it’d be nice for it to generate some revenue for longevity purposes, but beyond that I don’t think any of us care.

Finally, on a personal level, I had already migrated mostly out of FW as I mentioned in the OP. Thus the PWF mission of replicating FW, even if 100% successful, would be fine, but not super exciting in my eyes. I was hoping that FD was launched to fulfill a niche either different from or better than existing resources (Flyertalk, Bogleheads, Doctor of Credit, etc.) I’m still not sure if this is the case, or if FD is also trying to replicate FW.

[DaveHanson]

[quote=“ft-bh, post:33, topic:1521”]
As I mentioned in the OP, I asked the same question over in PWF and the response I got was that they essentially just want to create a copy of FW. Is that what FD is trying to do as well?..
.
I was hoping that FD was launched to fulfill a niche either different from or better than existing resources (Flyertalk, Bogleheads, Doctor of Credit, etc.) I’m still not sure if this is the case, or if FD is also trying to replicate FW.[/quote]

Fair questions. i don’t have crisp answers, but here are a few things I can say:

-The small group of us that founded FD have not agreed on a specific mission. I’m genuinely unsure how easily we could have agreed on a mission statement if we tried. I have thoughts individual about this, but they shouldn’t be interpreted as more than that–one founder’s thoughts.

-I do NOT see “copying FW” as a possible goal–irrespective of whether or not such a goal would be desirable. Communities are genuinely unique by their very nature, as they are formed by specific individuals over specific time periods.

-I do think FD strives to operate along values similar to the ones Tim tried to adhere to during the early years of FW. Those values include, roughly: fostering community; encouraging and praising thoughtful, high-value dialogue; moderating with a light touch wherever feasible; and not letting monetization schemes come at the expense of these other values.

-As for niche. I see FD as a community whose founding members share an interest in personal finance, broadly conceived, and who value high-quality, fun conversation and discussion. A focus the broad subject of personal finance is a niche that no other site I know of handles well–and this is the “niche” that I think we are capable of serving right out of the gate.

I like DOC very much. It’s excellent WRT gaming credit cards, promo offers, and similar, but does not focus on broader subjects like insurance, housing, retirement, dependents, et cetera. It is also more a well-run blog than a community. Bogleheads is another excellent community, but with a more specific focus (passive investments) and a similarly specific view towards appropriate topics and moderation.

Does that all make sense? Does it answer your question?

[gwraigty]

I don’t think it’s necessary to have a niche right off the bat. After all, both sites are still young and will evolve over time, naturally. I’m enjoying my time at both sites.

I think some people are feeling very anxious right now. Look at how many didn’t find out about FW closing until the last day. Some people want a carbon copy of FW. I just don’t think that’s a realistic thing to expect, nor is it necessarily desirable.

I’m enjoying the ride, wherever it may take me.

[MDfive21]

the niche is that it’s not in a niche. it’s a loosely organized collection of personal finance chat between finance enthusiasts, mostly the computer nerdy kind that are always in front of a computer. it’s a forum about (finance) nothing, which to me is what makes it appealing.

BH and FT have their uses, but for daily money chatter FWF/FD is the sweet spot.

[Ma_Barker]

I concur; typical display of schadenfreude, if not childish.

I don’t want another FW copycat, I want it to be better than FW and that will only come about with productive contributions from all of us members.

btw, I think DoC’s site is the best and the cream of the crop when it comes to bank/FI discussions.